i think you got this wrongpowerhouse has no influence on one hit with blade weapons, nor with any weapon type i believepowerhouse allows you to use heavy weapons with a bonus to stamina loss, so you don t get tired as fast

Each level of powerhouse also increases killing blow chance, which means that any single swing has a chance of killing the zombie while it is still standing. This affects all three melee options, using any of them with higher powerhouse means more chances of instakill.

Basically:Strong Back: You can carry more weight in your pack before becoming encumbered.Pack Mule: You can carry more items per stack. (Note: 4 instead of 3)Powerhouse: Reduced stamina penalty when using heavy weapons, and you can swing them a bit easier.Big Guns: Increased mobility and control when using light machine guns.

Yeh, think Grip's correct. +300% chance of a killing blow for melee combat added to edged decapitation of 175% ( I think ) is pretty good.The latest character I'm using is a powerhouse ninja for searching and carrying stacks of 4. Have suplex to get outa trouble if I get swamped.